


After The War

by DarkTrappedDesire



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bill's not a total ass, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Human Bill Cipher, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Inspired by Fanart, Not officially BillDip, Parody, Song fic, Tags May Change, Triangle Bill Cipher, Wow, a bit OOC, odd friendship, sorry about that, starfleetrambo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-01 21:37:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5221808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkTrappedDesire/pseuds/DarkTrappedDesire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Weirdmageddon ends, the world is not how it was before, and Dipper just can't live without the ones he cares about the most. The war may be over, but that doesn't mean he wants it to be. He'd rather fight for an eternity and have his family, than have it end and be without them. And he'd even turn to a demented triangle to fix it, even if they both know it won't be the same.<br/>!Has Season 2 spoilers!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When the World Fell

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [After The War fancomic](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/155480) by starfleetrambo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is how I imagined the story being like as I watched the video adaption of the comic. (There's a version put to the actual music on YouTube.)

Dipper shook as he stood in the open clearing, silence around him as the world turned grey, the being he had summoned coming forth directly behind him, silent in respect for what had happened. Not like Bill cared. It was the demon's own fault that things had turned out this way. But the dream demon  _had_ been around enough humans in the past to know that these things were a sensitive topic, and those things called 'feelings' that the meat bags had were always ripe for changing in an instant if handled the wrong way.

The grey world around them continued to be utterly still as Bill waited to be spoken to, showing impeccable patience for someone like himself. And as a reward for his patience, Dipper finally spoke up, his quiet voice cracking. "They're really gone, aren't they..." the preteen muttered, his voice despondent as he muttered a statement, only posing it as a question. Bill didn't respond, already reading his mind and knowing he didn't want the answer. Dipper continued. "You killed them... I killed them... I couldn't save them, just like you said that time you took my body." Once again, Bill was silent. Dipper was still facing away from him, showing no interest in turning to meet the eye of his true enemy.

Unexpectedly, Dipper turned his head; not enough for them to see each other's face, but just enough to show he was growing bolder. "Well? Why aren't you gloating? You have all that you wanted... You have a physical form, you have your own world, you've ruined absolutely everything that I ever loved and cared about.. Why the hell aren't you laughing by now!?" the preteen finally shouted, his shoulders shaking as he clutched all three of the Stanford's books, holding them to his chest even more tightly like they were his last connection to his old self. They... really were his only connection now. He'd even lost his hat during all the commotion in the last few days, his one trademark.

"Sorry kid, but I'm all laughed out at the moment! In case you haven't noticed, I've been having a spree of it for the last few days and having a physical form means I can finally get tired. The memory of those poor saps' faces can still put me in an awfully giggly mood, though~" the demonic triangle quickly piped up, relieved that Dipper was actually expecting an answer this time. Being quiet for so long is really not his thing, especially when he had to do said waiting around for a sad excuse of a child; a child that had tried to kill him multiple times at that. Seeing Dipper begin to turn his head away again made him sober up again though. Bill remained in his dutiful place behind the small boy. "Look kid, I'm gonna get to the point for ya, seein' as you have no intention of talking.. You wanna make a deal with me, right?"

The silence that followed his question was just irritating at the very least, but again he put up with it. Had he ever really expected to have this kid asking him for favors after what he'd done to him last time? Of course not! But here he was, being faced with a perfect opportunity, one he refused to pass up. The kid had tried his best to stop this opportunity from happening, and there were small moments where he could have succeeded, but now things had fallen right into place and Dipper was being forced to face reality. The kid just couldn't beat him, like he knew he couldn't. There was absolutely everything against the kid - fate, common sense, worldly power beyond Dipper's own comprehension in the hands of his enemy - and Bill didn't feel sorry in the slightest that Dipper had made himself just too damn stubborn to see it until it was too late in every exact way. All meat bags were worthless because of their emotions, and this little entertainer he had been presented with was no different.

But that didn't mean he would never be of use.

"Y.. Yes. I want to make a deal with you.." Dipper replied after a few hard moments of thought. He still couldn't believe that he was doing this, not after what happened last time, but really.. what was there to lose? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He had already lost everything, so all there was to lose was his own sanity, and even that was withering away now..

"Well, I'm all ears kid! ..Actually, I'm all bricks and magic and bloody intentions, but you get the idea~" the inter-dimensional being laughed out before he could stop himself. He knew he shouldn't have, but he just couldn't help laughing at his own jokes, they were just too good!

He didn't even think of flinching when Dipper spun around, the look in his eyes being able to burn the very soul of who it was directed towards... Well, it would have been, if Bill wasn't himself. The preteen stormed toward him, tears gathering in his eyes. "You know what I want and you know it's all your fault I can't have it, so don't you dare laugh!"

"But laughing is what you asked for, Pinetree! I'm just trying to give ya what you want. Isn't that nice of me? To give you what you asked for without even making a contract yet?" Cipher dipped forward a little to be closer to his next 'business partner' as he waited quite impatiently for an answer. "I'm just being the nicest I can be, Pinetree. Don't take it for granted.." he warned, his voice warbling slightly with power and insanity as he watched Dipper take a step back, obviously remembering what had happened to Wendy when she had stood up to him and he warned her with the exact same tone. The little.. incident, that had followed was one of the most emotionally striking to the boy in front of him; the only rival to it being the death of his happy-go-lucky twin.

Dipper gulped down his sudden fear as he turned his gaze up to Bill again, meeting his eye but losing his own angered gaze. He just felt.. tired. Tired and betrayed and depressed and so uncertain of himself he couldn't even stand it.. He had no one to lean on now, and it was making him so unfocused he couldn't even realize he was contradicting himself until it was pointed out.  _I just.. have to get this over with, don't I? Once I do this, I can be happy again... I can be with them again._

He took a slow, calming breath before he addressed the demon again. "I'm not taking it for granted, Bill. I still want that deal.."

"Then spit it out, Pinetree, I'm not supposed to make deals on thought alone, ya know? Could get me in trouble.. ya know, if I cared about that kind of thing. But seriously kid, don't keep flaking out on me. It'll make me lose my temper rather quick, and neither of us wants to ruin this good mood I have going on." Both beings could easily hear the agitation that was growing in the demon's voice. Though he still managed to sound happy, even with Dipper practically teasing him with the offer of getting exactly what he wanted all along, even before that lovely portal had been created.

"I.. I want..."

Dipper couldn't finish his sentence, knowing exactly what he wanted but not knowing how to properly execute it in words. There were so many things he wanted, in just one request, that he wasn't sure if he could phrase all of his emotions correctly.. Not that Bill cared, the damn Cipher could still find a way to screw up his end if he really wanted to. And Dipper could never put his finger on anything that Bill really wanted.

He raced through his thoughts to try and put them together first, and he ignored the eye that was searching his being, narrowing slowly as Bill continued to lose patience. He knew the demon was scouring his thoughts as he went through them, just waiting for him to  ** _PICK ONE ALREADY!_**  ...Dipper finally settled.

* * *

It was the twin's second day of being in Gravity Falls, and the sun was bright in the sky. It was still rather early in the day, and he knew his sister was still dead asleep in her room, the warmth from outside making their attic-bedroom just comfortable enough to bake in without feeling like they were in a sauna. The room was still neat from them not inhabiting it long, though they knew that by the end of summer it would be almost unrecognizable, seeing as neither of them liked to organize very well. And the one picture that they had up in the room already was sitting between their beds, the glass shattered from when they had fought over who got which side of the room. They both wanted the best view of outside and neither of them really ever backed down to the other one, unless they knew they would hurt the others feelings. They had settled the fight rather quickly though when they'd realized they'd broken their favorite picture of each other.

And just downstairs, his Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford were talking with each other, looking over a photo from their childhood that had been brought out after Ford returned through the portal - the portal that, for reasons only Dipper would know, was broken without a real reason to be fixed. He imagined that once they were done, the two would wonder off to the front porch and have a drink with each other before Ford went off to investigate the phenomenon of the town around them and Grunkle Stan went off to run the Mystery Shack for the day, for the first time in a long while, alone because both Wendy and Soos were busy. Wendy had told him the day before that she had to do something personal with her dad, and Soos said he had to go take his girlfriend on a date - though how he was taking her on one, seeing as they were still very far apart, he didn't bother to ask; Soos had finally gotten a girlfriend, so it wasn't his place to pry in their business.

And around them, the town was peaceful. Robbie V and his band were off playing in the teen's garage, his parents were off work for the day due to no one dying, Lazy Susan was at her restaurant making pie for the new mayor of the town and most of the other townsfolk, and even McGucket was having a good day, getting back on track with who he used to be now that he remembered what had happened to him. Sure, he had a long way to go, what with still being completely bonkers, but he was trying and that's what everyone in town was proud of. Lil' Gideon was even still in jail, with his parents nowhere to be seen in Gravity Falls since the election of Mayor Tyler Cutebiker.

Everything was peaceful, and everything was right with the world... Just the way it was before Bill took over and took away his perfect life...

* * *

"You saw all of that.. right?" Dipper finally announced, his thought ending as he picked up his head to face Bill, who he'd turned away from when he started crying at the fantasy he dreamed for himself. The demon didn't seem impressed with him for showing that much emotion in front of an enemy, but then again, Bill never really looked that impressed about anything. He was too busy shoving himself into other people's business.

"Of course I did, Pinetree."

"Then.. what do you want in return for giving it to me?"

The clearing was once again quiet as Bill felt a thrill go through him, straightening himself up as he held out a blue-flaming hand to the other, his eye gleaming in victory. "You burn those books of yours and we've got ourselves a deal kid~"

And despite himself, despite the situation, Dipper clutched more tightly to the books, staring incredulously at the being in front of him. Bill didn't even have to read his thoughts to know what he wanted to say. "Don't worry Pinetree, you'll still have them when you get there.. But they're pretty useless here in my world, aren't they?" And Dipper ducked his head to stare at the cover of the book titled "3". Did he really want to give up his last connection to his family for this? To not even give away, but BURN what was left of his old life..?

_Well.. If I burn them, I'll be getting a new life all over again, wont' I? I'll be in a different realm, with different books and different things to see, and I'll still have my family. I'll have new memories to make and experience, and hell, I might even be happier there than I've ever been in THIS life... It.. it COULD be a fair trade.._

Seconds ticked by as Bill's flame flickered from blue to a light orange, changing back and forth as the demon examined his thoughts, angered just by the possibility of Dipper rejecting the offer. In another moment though, Bill stopped detecting the hard force of malice that had been in the boy, almost like it wasn't there to begin with. Yes.. he was finally giving in~

"You know... When I get there, I'm still going to be looking for ways to stop you..." the preteen announced.

"I wouldn't expect any less of you, kid! But that doesn't mean you'll ever find anything useful as long as I'm the one controlling your new world."

"I know, I won't get far but I'll at least get somewhere... You'll come back for another deal if I call for one, right?"

That tidbit did spark surprise in the demon, an internal smile gracing his otherworldly features. The glint in his eye was the only visible hint of his joy. "Of course! What's life without some give and take?"

"Nothing at all to you, right?"

Bill kept his hand raised as a final silence took them over, this time it being a comfortable one, an understanding one. Dipper had made his choice, and Bill knew he wouldn't be taking it back in a few moments or a few years. If the kid wanted to stay sane, then he would make the deal - and despite all the consequences Dipper knew would happen because of his decision, he knew he couldn't go back to his true reality either. It would tear him down, and it would just give Bill more pleasure in life to see him suffer.

So, with a final sigh, Dipper lifted his hand and shook Bill's, a smile spreading across his face. "I guess I'll see you the next time summer ends.."

And Bill let out a laugh; one slightly sadistic and just a tad too insane. "Sure kid, I'll see you then. But for both of our sakes, make sure you don't force the world to rain hell again just to make a deal. You're waaay too much work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .
> 
> .
> 
> .
> 
> And that's it!
> 
> Sorry if the end seemed a little odd to anyone, but this is 'inspired' by the real thing and not based on it. I couldn't stop myself from making them seem just a bit like friends at the end, even if they would be extremely bitter ones.
> 
> Dipper and Bill have been trying to stab each other in the back since they met (though Dipper had a good reason, not just his own entertainment), and after all was said and done Bill did give him his fantasy and not a debauched version for his own sick pleasure. He kept his real end of the bargain and was making sure Dipper was happy in the end, even if it was just to keep him alive and sane long enough to get another bargain out of him again in the future.
> 
> I kind of also imagined a second part to this being them after a good number of loops, with Dipper growing up in his fantasy and Bill continuing to repeat the summer in different ways for him to live through as he aged, only coming back to reality in order to do something for Bill when he's asked to. I think of it as really sweet in my head, but you can imagine the continuation to this however you want. Hell, you can even write your own continuation and submit it on here or AO3 if you want, I'd love to see what you guys come up with, and I'm sure the creator of the actual comic would love to see it as well.
> 
> Anyways, sorry for rambling, I just really wanted to get my thoughts down. I've had writers block for a while and this actually turned out pretty good I think, so I hope you all liked it too.
> 
> Hope you guys favorite and I would love if you all reviewed to let me know what you think - cya everybody!


	2. Wake Up Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and possible future chapters have nothing to do with the fancomic; they're just a continuation of the AU that the previous chapter has spawned.  
> I hope you enjoy~

Bill floated steadily through the trees and foliage as he made his way to a quiet little shack in the woods, a used-to-be hotspot that was now a forgotten bit of history to the town of Gravity Falls.

Since he had taken over 4 years ago and made the world his own, "Gravity Falls" had actually ceased to exist outside of this one little shack, the only thing still left in tact from the time when he wasn't declared the absolute and only ruler of the known world. And for being so old already and so unused, the place was still in pretty good shape. Nothing was falling apart anymore than it had been when he'd first sealed it into another plane of existence and though nothing had been fixed, it still looked inhabitable. All in all, it was exactly like it had been four years ago, and that was all that Bill had to keep it as; functional but not impeccable.

But why did he need to keep it at all? Why couldn't he just burn it to the ground like he had done with all the rest of the town and its inhabitants? Why couldn't he just take it as it was and change it into something more of his image, like he had done with anything else of previous worldly value?

Because, as much as he felt like it, that just wasn't in his contract.

Sure, it could've been when he'd first made a pact with that Pines kid; after all, the deal was just to get rid of some books - the only things keeping him bound to any and all summons performed on him - and in return give a mere child his perfect life back; but at the time he hadn't cared enough about getting rid of his former prison enough to try it while he had extra time. The burning of the books had also broken the seal that had been placed on the town to keep him inside of it, and after putting Dipper into a semi-permeable sleep, he had gone as far away as he could go, as quickly as possible, to spread his reign of terror while he had the chance.

Now though, he had been through about 10 run-arounds with this kid that had meant jack-shit to him before and by this point burning down the place would give him more trouble than it would pleasure. Keeping this place around meant that he had the perfect place to store his little errand-boy inbetween assignments and deals, anyways. And as long as the Mystery Shack still stood in some way, and Dipper could come back and forth from it like it had never been touched by the insanity that was Bill, them making deal after deal would continue to be easy work.

He knew getting rid of it would be a lot more trouble as a fact too, having woken Dipper up outside in the forest one time as an experiment to see how he would do without his comfort zone. The short answer: there was a lot more panicking and tears and readjusting needed for Dipper to function properly than he felt he had time for. So, the shack had gotten to stay on a whim.

After a few moments, Bill finally reached the Mystery Shack, floating up to the attic and inside through the open window. A quick glance around let him know that his servant boy had decided to get up and move on his own for once, not being in his bed like Bill had left him after their last deal had been completed. Though, that wasn't really a surprise.

Bill had only come to check on the boy that day because he sensed Dipper woke up without him commanding it, something that only happened when Dipper somehow managed to die inside of his dream world. And the triangle didn't even know how he'd managed to do it this time, being too busy with his reorganization of former-Paris to properly monitor Dipper's current dream. For all he knew, Dipper's last coherent memory could have been falling down a hole all the way to being eaten by some form of beast, and depending on what had happened and how vividly he remembered it, the kid could be either trying to take his own life right now or just be trying to calm himself down somewhere.

For both their sake, Bill hoped it was the second one.

But, pushing his worried thoughts aside, Bill floated passed the room, stopping at the top of the stairs as he looked down them.  _Well, I didn't have to look far at all, did I?_ he laughed to himself before mentally sighing as he scanned the scene before him.

Sitting against one of the hallway walls was Dipper, breath quivering as he tried to stop panic from taking him over. His leg was bleeding profusely, bent in a way that made it obvious, even to Bill, that it was broken. The teen's eyes were wide and his hair was disheveled even worse than usual as he held the brown locks in his fists, tears streaming slowly down his cheeks.

The sight, which would usually make him laugh, was slightly sad to the dream demon as he floated down the steps, not touching them as he neared his errand boy. Well, errand man was getting much closer to the proper term now, seeing as Dipper was 16 years old. He was still awfully weak looking; thin, lean muscled, pointed features all around; but that was mostly because he'd spent almost all of his last four years sleeping in some fashion. Anyone would look like an odd skeleton if they barely had to move for such long periods of time.

Bill made a note to himself to wake the boy up more frequently from now on, so that he would be fit enough at most times to do more physical tasks than he'd been asked of beforehand. Giving Bill advise on how to sway humans in ways that didn't involve complete fear-embedded domineering didn't take any physical strength at all, but since Bill was beginning to lose trust in one of his generals, he felt like he'd be needing someone more easy to control at his side, for the purpose of smoothing out his plans. And that would take at least a little bit of running back and forth, something the kid obviously wasn't capable of doing anymore.

"Heya Pinetree!" Bill greeted as the human before him released his hair to meet the demon's eye, his own wide eyes looking like they might bulge out of their sockets. "Looks like you got yourself into a pickle again, huh?" the demon hummed, spinning his cane casually at his side as he waited to see if he'd get some kind of response.

Besides Dipper opening and closing his mouth like a fish, he got nothing out of him.  _Guess he's still waking up after all, he doesn't even recognize me.._ Bill thought with a small amount of irritation, wondering how anyone could ever forget about the magnificence that was himself. He was the king of the known world, and Dipper's literal only friend, so there was never much excuse to give to something like this.. But, just as he'd done twice before in this situation, Bill let it slide as he looked over the kid's leg, humming a jolly tune to himself as he found where his leg had snapped. "Wow! That must've been a pretty nasty fall, kid, you broke both the bones here with barely any resistance! Almost wish I was here to see it." Cipher admitted as he poofed away his cane to free both of his hands.

The teenager, who had been completely silent from the moment he arrived, finally let out an ear-piercing shriek as Bill cupped Dipper's leg, about to move it back into place. The demon released him immediately at the sound, surprised at the boy's actions for the first time in what felt like forever. "Man, you haven't screamed like that since I showed you the goldmines I made in Peru! This must really hurt." was all the triangle said before he resumed his task, ignoring the second scream that came out of Dipper as he reset the boy's leg to it's proper place. A few seconds after that, a warm blue flame was wrapped around Dipper's wound, healing it ten times quicker than it would ever do on its own, reducing Dipper's previous sobs to near-silent whimpers as the pain fluctuated.

When he was done healing, even the whimpering had stopped, leaving a silent, shaken-up Dipper in the demon's capable hands. "Hey, you in there? I fixed your leg! What else do you want, a cookie? C'mon, crack a smile why dont'ya?" Cipher continued to pester, waving a hand in front of Dipper's face as he spoke to him, just getting a continuously weary look, like the kid was no longer fully awake.  _Great, emotional shock set in. Perfect._ the demon chided in his head, furrowing his eye as he drifted closer to the teen's face, pressing his hands to each side of Dipper's head so it would be easier to peer inside of his memories. Just like Bill thought, somehow Dipper had managed inside his dream world to piss off the gnome kingdom enough for them to boil him alive, something that was only commonplace centuries ago when someone threatened to kill their ruling queen.

Bill supposed he should start taking a lot more care over how much control Dipper had over his own dreams from now on, since his own growing hatred for the gnomes had made them unrealistically vicious to match the teen's mental image. And having another episode of boiling alive could possibly make Dipper check out to the point of being unusable until he recovered fully, something Bill just didn't have enough time on his hands for.

The dream demon pondered what would be the most effective course of action for a moment before he released Dipper's head and snapped his fingers, watching the teen's eyes flutter for a moment before the closed, his head drooping down as he fell into a dreamless unconsciousness. The mental break from activity would give him a good amount of rest, even if it was only for a moment, so Bill stayed where he was, counting the seconds until five whole minutes had passed before he finally moved, floating to settle himself in Dipper's lap. He got comfortable before he closed his own eye and sunk into Dipper's unconscious as well, joining him in a place where his emotions were more stable and where he would be able to talk more effectively.

As the blank world surrounded him, he opened his eye again and spun around until he spotted the boy, who was laying on the 'floor' with his hands over his eyes. Even here he looked drained; not a good sign, but not as bad of one either.

"Hey kid, wakey wakey~ It's time to not be a sad sack, I got work for you to do!" Bill called, startling Dipper enough for him to sit up, his eyes wide as he looked up at him.

"Bill?"

"In the mind-flesh, Pinetree. Now get up, seriously, I know you went through some stuff but you're being pathetic."

Dipper glared at him, a refreshing look after being looked at in fear and blank hopelessness for so long.

"Yeah, like you really care if I look pathetic or not. The only time you see me is when you wake me up to do something for you."

Bill widened his eye a little with a laugh, crossing his arms. "Shows how much  **you've**  paid attention over the years, Pinetree. In case you haven't noticed, your physical form hasn't starved to death yet or even gave up from lack of... well, anything really. And who do you think has been making sure of that? This guy~!"

Dipper stared at him for a moment before shaking his head, a small blush coming to his face. "So, what? You've really been feeding me and bathing me and doing whatever else with me in my sleep this whole time?"

"Well, duh!"

"You... you're unbelievable." The teen muttered, face-palming as he let that fact sink in, only not overreacting at the moment because it made perfect sense to him that that was what had been happening. How else would be wake up after being asleep for so long still being perfectly clean? Sure, there's not a whole lot to get dirty from in your sleep, but he should have at least been covered in dust or something.

Bill let out a short laugh as he floated to the teen's side, just relieved to see that his errand boy was functioning well outside of his physical form. That meant there wasn't too much damage done to really hurt him, he'd just have to be patient enough for his body to get over the residual mental effects of the burning. The left over shock from the chemicals in his brain were probably the thing that made him jump up and move the moment he'd woken up before anyways, trying to save himself from the pain that didn't really exist.

"No, I'm just incomprehensible. Which isn't a surprise, since your brain is just too human and small to truly understand me." Another glare was thrown at him. "But anyways, I'm glad you woke up when you did, kid, chemical shock or not. I need your part of the bargain again."

"Really? How long was I asleep this time?" Dipper asked with a sigh, glancing down at himself to see if he had changed at all since the last time he'd been awake. Bill gave him a moment to look himself over as they negotiated the next deal, since the kid might find it hard to recognize just how skinny he was and how long his hair had gotten in the last few months.

"You've been asleep for 5 months, 2 weeks and 3 days. I know the minutes, but I also know you don't care. SO, moving on to MY needs~"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a second part just because I felt like it, and I couldn't get a continuation of this out of my head.
> 
> I also redid the first chapter to make it look and sound nicer, so I hope you guys check that out as well. Lemme know if you want to see yet another continuation of this, because I would love to write it.
> 
> I already have ideas, but let me know what you all would like to see as well. I hope to hear from you guys soon.


	3. Mark of the Dorito

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I couldn't stop myself from continuing this, especially since people actually commented on it. Comments always give me inspiration to keep writing.  
> So, I hope you like this one~  
> Also, someone on FF.net brought the ending to my attention and said this story was only good until BillDip showed up.  
> If you have any comments like THAT please refrain from posting them, because I don't care if you ship it or dont - also, this fic doesn't have any BillDip in it. I love BillDip but in this fic, the closest they would get is being open around each other and Bill teasing Dipper an awful lot, like portrayed.  
> If you want it to be BillDip, go right ahead and imagine it that way, I'd love it if you did; but you don't have to is the point.

Dipper sighed as he stood up from bed, stretching his legs out in front of him to make sure they weren't still asleep before he stood up in the still unfamiliar room.

For the last three months, Dipper had been working under Bill Cipher in the waking world, agreeing to be a more permanent fixture in the board of important people Bill surrounded himself in since his last time being woken up from his alternate world. It wasn't too much of a change from last time he'd been awake though, when Bill had first told him that he was losing faith in one of his generals and needed someone to keep an eye on him while he did a few other tasks, like making sure everyone else on the board met their deadlines. But it was different for him to still be awake after so long... Before he had only done that job for about three weeks, then was put back to sleep again when Bill thought the guy wasn't as suspicious as he had expected.

This time however... Well, the guy had apparently been smarter than estimated too, knowing that Dipper was going to be the one spying on him from the moment he'd been brought in as an assistant to their Overlord. So, a few weeks of good behavior right until Dipper left; then right back to his old ways, trying to conquer a small portion of former South Africa under Bill's nose. Which led to him being penalized immediately at the first uprising, followed by intense torture and inevitably death, which had left a gaping whole in the whole of people who Bill trusted to run smaller areas of the world, along with his other dimensions.

And so, Dipper had been woken up at the end of his 'perpetual summer' and was asked to fill it until someone else proved to be trustworthy enough. Which, just as Dipper had expected when he'd been forced to agree in the first place, was not going to happen...

Bill, for all of his power and ever-expanding knowledge, was not one that trusted others freely or very easily. And most times, even if he said he trusted you, he would constantly be watching your back, and your dreams, just waiting to find something that would justify his distrust for you. It was just how the dream demon was, and Dipper had realized this far before he'd been told last week by the very demon himself. Which was also odd to him, having such a personal discussion with Bill like that after almost 5 years of servitude.

But either way, here Dipper still was, awake and bored and lonely in his room as he got ready for work, trying and ultimately failing to comb his hair before he got dressed and left to go to his office, which was just downstairs.

As he got into his office and sat at his desk, the 16 year old glanced at his right hand, examining once again the mark that had been put onto the back of it three months ago. It looked almost like a tiny Bill, but without his hat and bowtie and cane, which just didn't look right to him at all after knowing Cipher for as long as he did. And instead of a single, vertical pupil in the center of his eye, it looked like he'd added a second one crossing over it horizontally, making it look like a cross-hair instead. Dipper ran his hand over it for a second, checking to see if he could feel the mark or not though he'd already done this many times before with the same result; no, he couldn't. Even if it looked like a tattoo, he just couldn't help running his fingers over it, since the way it had been put on him made him think of it as a scar.. A burning brand on the end of a stick, imbued with magic fire, was really unnecessary given all of Bill's power, but the triangle had insisted that it was protocol for being granted with knowledge of all the known universe.

Dipper suspected he just wanted to see the kid scream and cry some more before he owned him even further..

The teen shook his head to disrupt his own thoughts before he focused on his work, folding his hands in front of him and focusing the measly amount of magic energy he had into the mark. It took a few moments, as always, but Dipper was finally able to make an image appear before him, wobbly in its existence but stable in its imagery, as he examined the scenes presenting themselves to him. In the flickering orb of light in front of him, various scenes from all over former South Africa appeared to him, showing the progress that the enslaved people were making and showing how well they were managed by the lesser demons planted around to control them.

Watching some of the things going on in that place, which were surely being repeated in all corners of his former home world, made him honestly sick to his stomach.

Adults and children were still raped, people still destroyed themselves with drugs and alcohol when they could obtain it, discrimination was still existent and sometimes even encouraged by the demons... Well, more like constantly influenced by the demons, since they think they're sooo much better than these 'pesky fleshbags' they watch over.. And Dipper, with his job being to watch over everyone in his assigned area had to see a good portion of it himself.

It made him queasy every time, and quite a few times in the last few months he had thrown up, probably more often than he ever had in his old reality. And every time he was forced to see it, something in the pit of his abdomen - not quite his chest, not quite his stomach either - would tighten up the point of him being.. enraged. Simply angry to the point of not wanting to think anymore.

But that was where the  **good** part of his new job came in..

Being blessed with a sliver of Bill's powers, a slightly larger portion than even Bill had expected due to the influence his last take over of Dipper's body had left, meant that not only could Dipper find out information from the comfort of his office and home that he should have never been able to find out otherwise, but he could influence what was happening from that position as well, with a clench of the fist.

And sure, the first time he'd been angry enough to do it he may have panicked due to the fact he had forgotten that was a power he was given, saying that he would never do it again; but after that, he had gotten better at dealing with what he could do. From the comfort of his swivel chair, Dipper could see everything in his assigned area and, if the need arose, he could annihilate whoever was causing an issue.

Oh, a demon was overstepping his boundaries and is starting to harness energy for himself instead of their grand overlord? An instantaneously snapped neck and spine.

A few slaves are planning a riot soon, or to breakout in the night? A few heads exploded with no found probable cause.

Oh no, someone had decided to do the inconceivable act of raping someone, anyone, and thought they were going to get away with it? Well, sorry friend, but Dipper has decided that you deserve to slowly suffocate to death - after, just maybe, ripping your dick off of your body. Just maybe. If he's in a particularly bad mood... Which proved to be a lot of the time, considering almost every day Bill would pop into his office and bother him about something or other, like he happened to be doing right now.

"Heya Pinetree! Still having fun with your new job?" the inter-dimensional Dorito greeted as he poofed into the room a few feet in front of Dipper's desk. The greeting, catching the teen off-guard, made the orb of constant information in front of him disappear, blinking out of existence. Dipper looked at the demon and sighed lightly, rubbing the mark on his hand that was warm now from the magic concentrated into it.

"Hello Bill. Is there any reason for you coming here  _this_ time?" he asked politely, only a little venom in his words from knowing the demon probably didn't, as usual. The triangle floated closer to him now that he had his attention, sitting on his desk with one leg crossed over the other.

"Hmhm, well let's see. Would I really come here and waste my own time if I didn't have a reason?" Bill asked him, pausing like he expected an answer. Dipper chose not to, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed as he waited for the point. "C'mon kid, that was the perfect chance to dig at me and say 'yes, constantly!' Anyways, the answer is: One, I never waste my own time, kid. And two, today I wanted to give you a prize for being such a good assistant~ Isn't that nice of me?"

Dipper stayed where he was as he met Bill's eye, distrust evident in his silence. "That depends, Bill, exactly what prize are you here to give me?"

"Don't sound so unimpressed Pinetree, or I might take my prize away." The brunet stopped himself from rolling his eyes, not wanting to be reprimanded as well as not given a present. "Okay, so the other day I was patrolling around to see everything that was happening in the world for myself when I came across a few conversations about me going on. And before I condemned the lot of them to burn for a small eternity, I overheard some of them saying that  **I**  looked  **ridiculous**. Crazy, right?"

Bill was floating in front of him again, hands on his sides and his eye furrowed as he was obviously disgruntled from the comments about his "oh, so perfect" physique. Dipper looked him over for a second before just nodding with a widening smile, knowing that Bill could still read his thoughts commenting that he didn't look ridiculous, just nonthreatening.  _You DO look like what humans would have put on a cereal box if given the chance._

"I KNOW, you stupid humans would put anything amazing on a product if it gave you a better profit though. And I like to think, if people were still allowed to advertise, then I would be a best-seller every time." This time Dipper did roll his eyes. "That's what got me thinking though.. I do look perfect, in all meanings of the word, just not  **threatening** to you meatbags. Which is a problem when ruling over so many things and people with an iron cane. And after looking through some heads of the older citizens, I realized a lot of humans don't find anyone more threatening than their bosses. Who all happened to be humans. So~" Bill cooed, coming closer to Dipper as he wrapped a spindly arm around the boy's neck. "I decided you would have the treat of seeing my human form first, and you can even can give me advice on how to improve it! I refuse to go out in public looking in any way silly, ya got that? So you need to tell me if anything isn't proportional."

Dipper glanced at the demon at his side with a small laugh. "Wow, I guess this is an honor." he replied, with a small bit of sarcasm. The demon flickered from gold to blue for a second, before he continued. "But really, it's cool that I get to see how you'll look. You as a human... Honestly, I can't even imagine it."

"I couldn't imagine it at first either, Pinetree, but now we have to. So, turn that chair around and close your eyes for me. Your prize is still a semi-surprise that way."

Dipper made a show of rolling his eyes and groaning but did what he was told and stared at the wall as he waited to be turned around again. A moment passed in silence before finally there was a flash of blue behind him, lighting up his office before he straightened up in his seat, off-put by the sound of heavy footsteps. Even if he had been anticipating his boss to have a human form, he hadn't fully expected him to be.. solid, he supposed? Even though Bill technically already had a physical body, and had had one for 5 years now, he still didn't appear to. He was still awfully magical and inconsistent and didn't even weigh anything when he sat on Dipper's shoulder or head occasionally. It was practically like nothing had physically changed about him since they first met, but now it sounded like he had an actual being to put to the attitude. Suddenly Dipper was a lot less enthusiastic of having a human-esque boss.

"Pinetree~ You can turn around now."

The teen built himself up for seeing a big mass of a man when he turned around, with an nondescript look about him in term of race or age, but still generally threatening. Bill's voice had lost some of its demonic warble when he turned into this form too, making it almost seem deeper, and even that made Dipper uneasy. Why couldn't more people have been terrified by his triangle form? It's a flying fucking shape with magic powers and demonic intentions, why would that not be scary enough!? Finally though, he turned his chair around with his eyes closed, only opening them when he was fully faced forward.

"So. What d'ya think kid?" Bill asked, a wide, bright smile across his face, full of self esteem.

Dipper just stared as he took in the person before him, tall and thin with deeply tanned skin and bright blond hair on the top, the undercut of it being black as the night. His hair was short and parted off to the side, making the ends skillfully spike out to the other side. For clothes, Bill had kept to his usual dapper look, having his hat (floating above his head, not quite touching him), cane and bow-tie all there, just now with a crisp golden suit to go along with it. Along the sleeves it even looked like he had put his bricks onto it, the darker lines being a nice addition in Dipper's opinion. He had on black dress pants and black leather shoes too, accenting his clothes nicely. After skimming his eyes over the demon's new form, Dipper brought his attention back up to the demon's face, which was the weirdest part to him over all, since he was used to facing nothing but a single eye.. Though, he had to say it did make the transition easier when he realized he still  **was** facing a single eye, since the other eye socket had nothing in it; just a gaping emptiness since his eyelid was imitating the other side.

The teen didn't realize he was gaping until Cipher took a step closer to him and shut his mouth, making him blush in embarrassment before he leaned back in his seat again. "Speechless, Pinetree?" the demon teased, grinning now as Dipper scoffed, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. You did a good job Bill, very realistic."

"And? Do I look more threatening this way?"

"Well.." he paused, glancing over him again. Sure, he wasn't as intimidating as Dipper initially expected him to be, but he did have a body capable of much more expression now, something that could work greatly in his favor. "Yeah, I'd say so. But if you cover that missing eye of yours, I'm sure you'd have a lot more people swooning than cowering." Bill seemed to light up at the idea, probably already thinking of ways to use that to his advantage.

"Hm, that sounds interesting.. And would the same be said for you, Pinetree?" Bill leaned closer over the desk as he asked.

Dipper just laughed stiffly, his blush growing as he tried to blow off the situation. "Yeah right. Like I would fall for someone like you when you know I've still had a crush on Wendy for forever..." Sure, she wasn't.. around anymore.. but that didn't change that he thought she was beautiful and really cool. And there was still the chance that he could marry her in his next dream-cycle, if he got the chance to go back before he went insane from his current job.

"Oh really? I wouldn't think so. In that last dream of yours, you seemed pretty intent on getting into the pants of that... who was his name? Brad?"

Dipper died a little inside at the size of the grin Bill gave him. "Yeah, well.. Brad isn't you, is he?"

"He's also just in your head, Pinetree."

"Well so were you for the first year I knew you, and now look at you."

"Fair enough, kid. Fair enough."


	4. I'm Sorry for Who I've Become

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bill isn't in his human form in this chapter - that form he usually keeps for public outings and speeches and stuff.  
> Him and Dipper both prefer his usual form.

Bill Cipher floated down the hall of the Mystery Shack, his eye furrowed as he glanced in every room, moving up the stairs and towards the attic where he burst into the bedroom up there, crossing his arms as he spotted Dipper curled up in bed, blankets covering him completely but his form being obvious. The kid hadn't even flinched when Bill slammed door open and he didn't make a comment either as the dream demon floated closer, hovering directly over him in his triangular form.

"Pine Tree... Is there any plausible reason you can give me as to why you're  **here** and not  **working**?" the Cipher demanded first, his usually golden color already becoming darker, like a bright orange, as he waited. The teenager, now 17 going on 18, shifted beneath him, though all he did was curl up further.

"Bill.. I want to go back." came the muffled response he didn't expect. Well.. He didn't expect it now of all times, seeing as Dipper has been awake for awfully long and the dream demon had expected for this to happen after around a month of consciousness, not several.

The demon returned to his usual coloring, still miffed but calming down now that he'd been given a reason. "And just why do you want to go back  **now**?" Dipper took in a breath underneath him.

"I need to see Mabel.."

"And why is that?"

"Because I need to apologize."

Now that wasn't what Bill expected at all.

The triangle hummed softly before reaching down and pulling the blanket off of his favorite worker bee. The boy looked like he'd been crying and just as he usually did when he was distressed, he was pulling his hair again. The demon papped his hand so that he would let go, but just so his arm wasn't in the way of his face. Bill had gotten used to making eye contact with people when he spoke to them, seeing as it made a great amount of people uncomfortable, which he really liked.

"Alright. Then, out of all the things you've done since you woke up, what the heck are you going to apologize for?" Bill hummed, now intrigued by his absentee. The look in Dipper's eyes was one of pure self-hatred, something Bill hadn't seen in a while due to everyone being too busy trying to survive to care about interpersonal events.

"I... Everything. Just.. everything! I need to say sorry for not saving her, and everyone else, and for siding with you, and for doing all this... All this horrid shit you call my job!" the teenager shouted, a hand coming up to cover his face as the kid began shaking. Bill moved it out of the way again without, not skipping a beat.

"You were perfectly fine with this job for the last year. What happened?"

Honestly, Bill had no idea. He was an all-knowing dream demon and was now the ruler of all the known world, as well as some unknown to even Dipper because of all the free labor he's been getting from this world to help him in others, but he didn't  _technically_ know everything. Sure, he could, but that was a lot of wasted effort using his magic to know every little detail about everything when he could easily just ask his supervisors, like Dipper, what had been happening since that was also their jobs. It was a lot easier to let other people do his work for him and just get an over view, after all.

Dipper didn't answer for a moment, miffing Bill once again, only to speak up a moment before Bill was going to delve into his mind. "I.. I killed them.."

Bill's eye widened in a way to make it look like he was raising a brow. "And just who did you kill?"

"Children! I-I killed two.. two little children... Because you said that was my job, and they were making a problem..." Dipper started shaking harder, trying to gulp down his emotions. "They were just trying to make their lives better, but they were stealing from the head demon, and I.. It was just an automatic response, but..." Without seeming to realize it, a small sob escaped Dipper.

Bill just floated where he was, unresponsive to the others pain, though that was mostly because he didn't know how to handle this situation in a way that wouldn't make Dipper angry. How was he supposed to act when Dipper suddenly decided to grow a conscious again? He'd had a near perfect worker in the boy for nearly a year now, so he never expected he'd have this conversation...

"Well... Look kid, it's not your  **fault** , they were the ones stealing. How old were the brats that did it?"

"I.. I-I don't know, really young... P-Probably like seven."

"Then they were old enough to know better and did it anyways! It's never anyone's fault for someone else's incompetence, that's a personal failure." Bill replied, his tone bright again as he tried to brighten up his Pine Tree. Nothing. If anything, what he'd just said made it worse, Dipper pulling the blanket over himself again as another sob racked through his body, which was much less scrawny now that he'd been up and about for so long.

The triangle scratched under his hat for a moment as he kept thinking, wondering just how quickly he'd be able to make a week in Dipper's mind pass. It was possible to make much longer amounts of time pass in what felt like the blink of an eye, but Bill had noticed that speeding up time that much in a human mind, where time was a very important - though stupid - construct, could be harmful if it went by too fast. Their brains, as usual, just weren't well built enough to handle it, at least not after so many times of Bill doing it to Dipper's head anyways. After spending 13 mental years in his head, where the real time of the world had only been about half of that, Dipper's mind was already weakened to certain events. Which was a very probable cause of this, though Bill pushed that thought away since nothing that bugged him was ever his own fault.

_One week going by can't be as bad as a whole summer in the long run, so this should be fine. He's already missed half a day's work anyways._

"Alright, Pine Tree, fine. You win. You get to go back in your head for a while, but you're not getting a full summer. Hear me?"

"Y-Yeah.."

"Good." Bill muttered, snapping his fingers before he watched the shivering sheets in front of him slowly stop moving and the evident breathing under it even out. Within a matter of minutes, Dipper was completely asleep and devoid of any previous distress. Sure, his cheeks and nose were still red, along with the corners of his eyes, and sure, his hair was still a complete mess and he every once in a while he'd sniffle, but besides that the kid looked right as rain again.

The Cipher patted himself on the back for handling the situation, though he was a little ticked that Dipper had convinced him to give him the day off.  _Ah well, it's just one day I guess. I do have all eternity for him to work it off, and then some._

There was silence in the room for a few moments as Bill wondered what he should do now, staring at the calm mass of sheets in front of him. In the end, all he did was magic away the snot that Dipper had gotten on himself from crying -  _disgusting.._ \- and float down to sit on Dipper's sleeping form, where he closed his eye and watched over the events happening in the boy's area, skimming through much quicker than Dipper was currently capable anyways. Someone had to monitor them for the day and, seeing as he had nowhere to be, he guessed he could do his own work for once.


End file.
